Morningstar Economist Says GDP Report Was A 'Positive, High-Quality Surprise'

Speaking exclusively to Benzinga, Morningstar Director of Economic Analysis Robert Johnson said the raised GDP numbers from Tuesday's report surprised most people. “We had all thought maybe there would be a tiny downtick,” Johnson offered.Johnson explained the main reason for the revised GDP number was due to the better-than-expected consumption number. “We had a relatively strong consumer, which is 70 percent of GDP,” he explained. Johnson believes businesses picked up the pace in the third quarter as well. “Businesses have been a little up and down in terms of spending, but this is probably the second quarter in a row that we've seen some nice growth,” according to Johnson. Businesses have been making investments in software and equipment, Johnson explained, but not structures. He said one reason for this is that more people are working from home now. Johnson suggested a decent import/export number also contributed to the raise in GDP, despite the strong dollar and weakness overseas.